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Prior research finds that low‐income students are less likely to apply to and enroll in four‐year colleges or more selective colleges, even after controlling for academic preparation and other background characteristics. The College Board sought to reduce barriers in the college application process through a targeted campaign of brochures and e‐mails. These materials were sent to students two to three times between the end of eleventh grade and the middle of twelfth grade, and aimed to provide an impetus to start the college search process, minimize the costs of aggregating data, and encourage a broader college application portfolio. Some students were offered additional encouragements, such as text message reminders or college application fee waivers. In a randomized control trial with 785,000 low‐ and middle‐income students in the top 50 percent of the PSAT and SAT distributions, we find no changes in college enrollment patterns.

The global SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic has seen a revolution in both vaccine development and approval processes enabling life‐saving vaccines to be implemented at record speed. The resultant vaccines, implemented in Australia under provisional licensure, have used vaccine technologies not used before in Australia. Australia and New Zealand, for much of the pandemic, have been spared the high rates of COVID‐19 disease seen elsewhere. Implementing COVID‐19 vaccination programs at an entire adult population level has been a complex, evolving series of programs, with recommendations and strategies responding to community confidence, concerns and rare but potentially severe post‐licensure adverse events. Understanding our diverse community and their concerns, incentivising immunisation, and responding openly to emergent concerns are key components to maintaining community and health care provider confidence in this critical ongoing COVID‐19 vaccine program. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Background Epidemiological data suggest that coffee has a dose-dependent protective effect on liver-related mortality. Aim To estimate the potential impact of increased per capita coffee consumption on global liver-related mortality. Methods Using the Global Burden of Disease 2016 dataset (adults > 15 years), we modelled the impact of increased per capita coffee consumption on liver-related mortality in 2016 for 194 countries using published risk ratios for >2 cups coffee/ day (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.42-0.69) and ≥4 cups/ day (RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.17-0.50), adjusted for confounders and tested model assumptions using sensitivity analyses. Results Worldwide, there were an estimated 1,240,201 (95% CI 118 4300-1 354 410) adult liver-related deaths in 2016. Median global liver mortality rate in 2016 was 15 deaths/ 100 000 population/ year (all ages, both genders; IQR 11-21 deaths per 100 000). If all countries with per capita coffee intake ≤2 cups/ day increased to >2 cups/ day, the predicted total number of liver-related deaths would have been 630 947 in 2016 (95% CI 629 693-631 861) with 452 861 (95% CI 451 948-454 116) deaths averted (PPR 7.8 liver-related deaths/ 100 000/ year). If per capita consumption was ≥ 4 cups/ day, the predicted number of liver-related deaths in 2016 would have been 360 523 (95% CI 359 825-361 992) with 723 287 (95% CI 721 817-723 984) deaths averted (PPR 12.1 liver-related deaths/100 000/year). Conclusion Increasing per capita coffee consumption to > 2 cups per day on a population level has the potential to avert hundreds of thousands of liver-related deaths annually if the impact of coffee on liver-related mortality is confirmed in clinical trials.

Colleges compete with one another for students. This article overcomes historical data limitations associated with forming a national picture of competition among colleges using the universe of SAT‐takers. We identify and measure competition by the overlap within the set of colleges to which students send their SAT scores (Score Sends). We document the competitive landscape for 1152 colleges between 1996 and 2013 including the number of competitors, the intensity of the competition, and characteristics of a college's primary competitors. For example, on average, a college has Score Send overlap with 736 other institutions and their primary competitors are located 104 miles away and have 34.2% Score Send overlap. All of the documented measures of competition vary greatly by institution type but do not change dramatically over the time period examined.

Prairie stream fish assemblages experience seasonal shifts in habitat conditions, often coupled with powerful disturbance regimes, where systems fluctuate widely between drought and deluge. These abiotic drivers, more often than biotic factors, structure fish assemblages. Scouring floods may reset stream communities to early successional seres, and droughts may progressively eliminate species from communities. Therefore, fish assemblage structure resilience depends on recolonisation and reproductive success following a disturbance. Many plains fishes have life history traits that facilitate the wide dispersal and immediate contribution of offspring following disturbance events. However, descriptions of temporal and spatial patterns in larval assemblage structure in prairie streams are scarce, and few studies evaluate the effect of disturbances on reproduction. The objectives of this research were to (i) study the timing and contribution of native prairie stream fishes to drifting larval fish assemblages in three eastern South Dakota basins (Vermillion, James and Big Sioux) and (ii) describe larval fish responses to floods in the James River. We sampled drifting larval fish diversity during the spawning season from 2010 to 2012 throughout each basin. We also examined the effect of flooding on larval fish assemblage structure using data collected near the confluence of the James and Missouri rivers during baseflow (2003, 2004 and 2012) and flood conditions (2010). Subtle variability in spawning traits of prairie fishes and an apparent seasonal progression of larval fish taxa that secondarily respond to disturbance regimes suggests reproductive efforts are adapted to maximise the potential for successful recruitment in these severe systems.

Background: Hepatitis C (HCV), hepatitis B (HBV), alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), and non-alcohol-related fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are leading indications for adult liver transplantation in Australia and New Zealand. However, these diseases are potentially preventable through effective primary and/or secondary prevention strategies. This study evaluates the relative contribution of potentially preventable liver diseases to liver transplant numbers in Australia and New Zealand over time. Methods: Prospectively recorded clinical, demographic, and outcome data were collected from the Australian and New Zealand Liver Transplant Registry for all primary adult liver transplants performed in Australia and New Zealand from 1 January 1985 until 31 December 2012. Potentially preventable liver disease was defined as HBV, HCV, NAFLD, ALD, and HCC. The etiology of liver disease leading to liver transplantation and the proportion of preventable liver disease-related liver transplantation was compared between Era 1 (1985–1993), Era 2 (1994–2003), and Era 3 (2004–2012). Results: Overall, 1252 of 3266 adult primary liver transplants (38.3%) were performed for potentially preventable liver disease. There was a significant increase in the proportion of liver transplants because of preventable liver disease from 21.2% (93 of 439) in Era 1, to 49.8% (623 of 1252) in Era 2 and 63.5% (1000 of 1575) in Era 3 (P

There are over 500-750 000 deaths per year because of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis and liver cancer worldwide and the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region has some of the highest endemic levels of HBV in the world, particularly within China, South East Asia and Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICT). The PICT have unique ethnic diversity and a very high prevalence of smoking and metabolic syndrome, both important risk factors for liver fibrosis and liver cancer. However, in contrast to many Asian countries, there is little published data on HBV prevalence and related liver disease burden in PICT. In this review, the available published literature and World Health Organization data for HBV prevalence and related liver disease and liver cancer burden in PICT is outlined, and unmet needs for improving HBV prevention and control in the region are highlighted.

Using a rich data set of all SAT test takers from the 2004 through 2008 high school graduation cohorts, we investigate the impact of state-specific school age-of-entry laws on students’ pathways into and through college. We document that these laws do not impact the probability that a student takes the SAT; however, we find strong evidence that students who are expected to be the oldest in their school cohorts based on their state residency and birthdays have a greater probability of taking an Advanced Placement (AP) exam and tend to take more AP exams. We also find that relatively younger students are more likely to attend two-year colleges before attending four-year colleges and are less likely to have earned bachelor's degrees four years beyond high school graduation, but eventually catch up to their older peers six years beyond high school graduation.

School counselors play a crucial role in U.S. high schools, helping students traverse the challenges of high school and providing insight into the many options available to them following graduation. School counselors supplement teachers by relieving them of guidance duties--a skill set that teachers may not have developed fully through their training or may not have the capacity to implement effectively given their competing demands. The responsibilities of high school teachers are well defined and relatively consistent across schools: They are generally responsible for transferring subject-specific knowledge to their students and enhancing students' abilities to think critically. By contrast, the role of the high school counselor varies greatly across schools and even within schools (Bridgeland & Bruce, 2011; Paisley & McMahon, 2001). Due diligence by the counselor requires a nimbleness and an ability to work with students on an extremely wide range of issues running the gamut from college and financial aid application completion to course work directives to the resolution of behavioral and personal problems. The typical American high school, by many accounts, is not equipped to provide students with the many and diverse resources that simply cannot be offered by teachers alone. Recent budget cuts have led to mass layoffs of counselors across many districts, particularly in California (Po, 2012). When financial resources are strained and districts are cornered into dismissing staff, the choice of which staff to terminate is challenging. One is compelled to wonder: What is the motivation for honing in on counselors as more dispensable than other staff? Perhaps the lack of causal empirical evidence on the impact of counselors on student outcomes is to blame. Given the laserlike focus on teachers in the educational research arena, the dearth of rigorous empirical studies on the extent to which school counselors influence student outcomes is not surprising. In this article, we use an empirical approach to estimate the impact of an additional counselor on student outcomes, and we provide an example of how this approach might be used with 4-year college-going as an outcome of interest. Many states (e.g., Alabama, Louisiana, Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont) specify that a high school must increase the size of the counseling staff when the school enrollment exceeds an established threshold. This means that similar high schools may have dramatically different student-to-counselor ratios depending on whether their enrollment just exceeds or just falls short of the threshold beyond which an additional school counselor must be added. Such laws provide ideal settings for studies geared toward drawing causal inferences through a regression discontinuity design. We demonstrate how to use this empirical technique with counselor staffing and 4-year college-going data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), which is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Background The recent wave of research on teacher evaluation and accountability is tremendously important and long overdue (Clotfelter, Ladd, & Vigdor, 2006; Glazerman et al., 2010; Goldhaber, 2007; Goldhaber & Brewer, 1997; Jacob & Lefgren, 2008; Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005). However, the disproportionate focus on teachers in the school accountability and school quality research creates the illusion that teachers are solely responsible for the success or failure of American schools and the students within them. With growing evidence of the impact of teacher quality on a variety of student outcomes, the importance of a strong teaching force is clearly a powerful driver of student success (Darling Hammond, 2000; Greenwald, Hedges, & Laine, 1996). But teachers alone cannot shoulder the entire burden of ensuring that students reach their full potential, nor can they take sole responsibility for preparing students for life after high school. …

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common indication for liver transplantation worldwide; however, recurrence post transplant is almost universal and follows an accelerated course. Around 30% of patients develop aggressive HCV recurrence, leading to rapid fibrosis progression (RFP) and culminating in liver failure and either death or retransplantation. Despite many advances in our knowledge of clinical risks for HCV RFP, we are still unable to accurately predict those most at risk of adverse outcomes, and no clear consensus exists on the best approach to management. This review presents a critical overview of clinical factors shown to influence the course of HCV recurrence post transplant, with particular focus on recent data identifying the important role of metabolic factors, such as insulin resistance, in HCV recurrence. Emerging data for genetic markers of HCV recurrence and their usefulness for predicting adverse outcomes will also be explored.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Paracetamol is the most frequently used analgesic in Australia and can be purchased without a prescription. We aimed to investigate the epidemiology and outcome of paracetamol overdoses occurring in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: The Victorian admitted episode dataset was examined for all patients who had a diagnosis of paracetamol poisoning (ICD-10-AM: T39.1) or paracetamol adverse effect in therapeutic use (Y45.5) from 1(st) July 2000 - 30(th) June 2007. Data extracted included all ICD-10 codes related to their admissions, gender, age-range, date of admission and cause of death (if applicable). RESULTS: Over 7 years there was a total of 14,662 hospital admissions for paracetamol overdose with a mean of 2,095 cases per year. Accidental overdoses comprised 15% (n=2,149) of cases. The overdose rate fell from 46 cases per 100,000 in 2001 to 39 cases per 100,000 in 2006 (p Language: en

Increasingly, undergraduate and graduate programs in medical humanities are exploring the ability of the arts to elucidate the human condition as it relates to patient care. At the University of California, Davis, students and faculty from both the Department of Medicine and English Literature have convened for informal readings of scenes from dramatic works. This paper discusses the use of excerpts from Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night and Berry Barta’s Journey into That Good Night in a medical education setting. Medical students participated in staged readings of these plays, which were filmed and then screened for a group of 30 medical students in order to elicit discussion. Topics included how individuals deal with illness differently and how prospective physicians could address similar clinical scenarios. Medical students contributed to a fluid, evolving project in which they oftentimes struggled to play a character but appreciated the opportunity to do so and to observe their peers in a similar fashion. Future plans for the project include further staged readings and presentations to larger groups of students with the intent of incorporating these activities into the medical school curriculum.

These essays may be seen as representing three main contemporary approaches to literature and medicine research: the educational, therapeutic and theoretical. Kabir Matharu’s piece discusses the applications of literary study in a medical education setting; Marilyn McIntyre’s piece shows the therapeutic value of poetry, and its unique ability to capture experiences of illness; and Masha Mimran’s piece uses literary criticism to interpret both medical and fictional texts. By grouping these three essays together, we hope to show the commonality and complementarity between research done by scholars in the Medical Humanities from disparate disciplinary backgrounds: all three attempt to break down the boundaries between medical diagnosis and lived human experience. One can best appreciate this project by keeping in mind the empathic process, which links the mind and body, intellect and emotion, creativity and interpretation.

In this paper we investigate how participation in the Early Assessment Program, which provides California high school juniors with information about their academic readiness for college-level work at California State University campuses, affects their college-going behavior and need for remediation in college. Using administrative records from California State University,–Sacramento and the California Department of Education, we find that participation in the Early Assessment Program reduces the average student's probability of needing remediation at California State University by 6.1 percentage points in English and 4.1 percentage points in mathematics. Rather than discouraging poorly prepared students from applying to Sacramento State, EAP appears to lead students to increase their academic preparation while still in high school. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.